---
title: "Bungamati and Khokana: Twin Villages South of Patan"
canonical: "https://lokoon.com/blog/bungamati-khokana"
author: "Lokoon"
published: "2026-11-15T00:40:38.844638+00:00"
modified: "2026-11-15T00:40:38.844799+00:00"
kind: "blog"
---

# Bungamati and Khokana: Twin Villages South of Patan

> Two farming villages on the valley's southern edge, linked by a fifteen-minute walk through fields. Woodcarvers in one, mustard oil in the other.

Seven kilometres south of Patan's ring road, the city gives way to terraced fields, and two old Newar settlements sit on neighbouring spurs above the Bagmati River. Bungamati and Khokana are close enough to visit together in a morning and different enough to be worth seeing both.
Bungamati: the rain god's other home
Bungamati is tied to one of the valley's most important deities. Rato Machhindranath, the red-faced god of rain and harvest, spends part of each year in a temple in Patan and the rest in Bungamati. Once every twelve years, the god's towering chariot is pulled all the way between the two.
The village was among the places hit hardest by the 2015 earthquake. The stone shikhara temple in the central square collapsed, along with many houses. Reconstruction has been slow and is still visible, with new brickwork beside propped-up old walls. Visiting with that in mind matters: this is a community that is rebuilding, and money spent in its shops and workshops is useful.
Walk down the main lane from the bus stop and you will hear chisels. Bungamati is a village of woodcarvers, and many front rooms are open workshops where men and women carve window frames, masks and deity figures from dark sal and lighter woods. Nobody pressures you to buy. If you do want something, small carved panels and masks travel well, and you can watch a piece being finished.
The central square holds the temple site, a small shrine to Bhairav and several water tanks. From its edge the land drops towards the river and the hills beyond.
The path between
Leave Bungamati by the lane heading north. Within a few minutes the houses end and a path runs along a low ridge between fields of rice, wheat or mustard, depending on the month. In winter and early spring the mustard is in flower and the whole slope turns yellow.
Halfway along stands Karya Binayak, a Ganesh shrine in a clump of trees. People come here to ask for help in finishing difficult tasks, which gives the place its name. It is a peaceful spot with benches and a good view back towards both villages.
The walk takes fifteen to twenty minutes on level ground.
Khokana: the mustard oil village
Khokana is more compact, built along one unusually wide main street that was laid out after the 1934 earthquake. In the centre rises the three-tiered temple of Rudrayani, the village's protective goddess.
The village is known throughout the valley for mustard oil, pressed the old way. In a few communal mills, seeds are roasted, then crushed between heavy wooden beams tightened by hand, and the oil is collected below. If a mill is working when you visit, you can usually step in and watch. The smell is sharp and unmistakable. Bottles are sold on the spot, and the oil is prized for cooking and for massaging newborns.
Khokana also keeps its own calendar of customs. Notably, it does not celebrate the national festival of Dashain in the usual way, holding its own masked-dance festival for its goddess instead. Residents will also tell you, with some pride, that their village was among the first in the country to have electric light, in the early twentieth century.
What you will see in both
- Women spinning wool on hand-turned wheels in doorways.

- Grain, chillies and garlic drying on mats and strung from upper windows.

- Ducks, goats and dogs in the lanes.

- Elderly residents sitting in the sun on raised stone platforms, which are the villages' true social clubs.

Practical details
Foreign visitors may be asked for a small entry fee at each village, collected locally. Microbuses to Bungamati leave from Lagankhel bus park in Patan and take thirty to forty minutes; a taxi from Patan is faster and can wait or meet you at the Khokana end. Buses back to Lagankhel also pass Khokana's main road.
There are tea shops and simple snack places in both villages but little in the way of restaurants, so plan lunch back in Patan.
Good manners here
- Ask before photographing people, especially the elderly and anyone working.

- Do not enter houses or workshops unless invited or clearly open.

- Walk around drying grain, never over it.

- Dress modestly; these are conservative communities.

Why make the trip
Patan and Bhaktapur show what Newar kings built. Bungamati and Khokana show how Newar farmers and craftspeople have lived alongside those cities for centuries, and how they are coping with change, earthquakes and the steady approach of the suburbs. Go soon, go gently, and buy your mustard oil at the source.

Source: https://lokoon.com/blog/bungamati-khokana